Well the RAC Canada Day Contest is over for another year.

As with all the RAC Contests I set certain goals for my self and for this one was no different.

The goals were as follows:

HAVE FUN- This is a must. I am a casual operator and not a “dyed in the wool” contester. The main thing is to have fun and keep it friendly… This was not an issue and I had a blast working across Canada.

TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-

Well almost… I had contacts in:VE1, VE2, VE3, VE4, VE5, VE6, VE7, VE8, VE9 and VO1. East Coast to the West Coast and the North West Territory.

Unfortunately this time VO2,VY0, VY1 and VY2 escaped me.

HAVE A SCORE IN THE TOP 50% OF MY CATAGORY. Needless to say that this time its not going to happen. I made contacts on 15m, 20m and 40m and they were good contacts…. I just needed more of them.

After about 9 hours of radio stretching it out over a 24 hour period it was all over. One of the lowest scores I will not be submitting but it was still fun.

Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.

Check out their website for more information.

.

Then it looks like its back to “Playing Pota” again ….

73bob

 Spartan Sprint QRP CW Event 

The monthly Spartan Sprint QRP CW event will be this coming Monday evening.  (This is UTC Tuesday from 0000z-0200z).

No membership required - the  Spartan Sprint is open to all.

If you have never tried running 5 watt QRP CW, here is a chance to try it. Most modern rigs can be turned down to 5 watts.

During QRP CW events everyone is listening for weaker signals - you will be surprised to find out what 5 watts CW can do.

More information can be found at :   https://ars-qrp.com 

73,

Jody - K3JZD

‐------------------------------------------------------

BTW, NJ POTA folks. Today starts the new fiscal year for New Jersey. The "holiday" for free entry into NJ State parks has ended. For a lot of them (but not all), there is now a $5 entry fee. Seniors can continue to get in for free by applying for a special permit https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/getinvolved/stateparkpass.html

I filled mine out, I have to get it in the mail.

And lest I forget ......

Happy Canada Day to all our brother and sister Amateur Radio ops north of the border!

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

That’s a reminder that the RAC Canada Day Contest starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st and runs for 24 hours. The link will take you to the RAC Website and you can look over the rules.

Hopefully the Propagation Deity will be smiling on us for the Contest.

73bob

That’s a reminder that the RAC Canada Day Contest starts at 0000 hrs UTC on July 1st and runs for 24 hours. The link will take you to the RAC Website and you can look over the rules.

Hopefully the Propagation Deity will be smiling on us for the Contest.

73bob

The Coles Notes Version:

Operated for approximately 12 hours….

81 SSB contacts…. on 4 amateur bands

54 contacts on 40m, 16 contacts on 15m, 10 contacts on 20m and 1 contact on 80m.

Furthest contact was with KL7SB in Alaska, with the next furthest being K6JO in Orange County (LA) California.

Made numerous contacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

My Yaesu FT991a worked flawlessly and the antennas I used was my 60 ft (approx) inverted L for 40 and 80m.

My homebrewed modified Coastal 20 antenna was excellent on 15m and 20m.

This was a great “Warm up” for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st

Thanks for the contacts…

73bob

The Coles Notes Version:

Operated for approximately 12 hours….

81 SSB contacts…. on 4 amateur bands

54 contacts on 40m, 16 contacts on 15m, 10 contacts on 20m and 1 contact on 80m.

Furthest contact was with KL7SB in Alaska, with the next furthest being K6JO in Orange County (LA) California.

Made numerous contacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

My Yaesu FT991a worked flawlessly and the antennas I used was my 60 ft (approx) inverted L for 40 and 80m.

My homebrewed modified Coastal 20 antenna was excellent on 15m and 20m.

This was a great “Warm up” for the RAC Canada Day Contest coming up on July 1st

Thanks for the contacts…

73bob

This weekend in the USA, we celebrate Father's Day on Sunday. I've had the honor and privilege to fulfill that duty for 24 years now. I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything.

Before I get into the on-the-air happenings for the weekend - the big announcement:

Next Thursday, June 20th marks the First Day of Summer! That means that sign ups for the 2024 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will formally commence! To sign up for a Skeeter Number you MUST send an e-mail to w2ljqrp@gmail.com. Number requests by any other means, social media, Facebook, etc will NOT be honored. You will receive a reply from me with your Skeeter number - most likely the same day or within a day or two if things are hectic for W2LJ. E-mail requests as of 0400 UTC on June 20th, midnight here in EDT will be honored. Please don't jump the gun to get to the head of the line - as always, requests will be honored in the order that they are received.

For all the rules and particulars, you can visit the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt page up above, or go to https://www.qsl.net/w2lj

So now, onto the weekend:

Contests:

West Virginia QSO Party - https://www.qsl.net/wvqp/

All Asian DX Contest, CW - https://www.jarl.org/English/4_Library/A-4-3_Contests/2024AA_rule.htm

Stew Perry Topband Challenge - http://www.kkn.net/stew/

Run for the Bacon QRP Contest - http://qrpcontest.com/pigrun/

ARRL Kids Day - http://www.arrl.org/kids-day

Special Events:

06/01/2024 | Fox River Radio League 100th Anniversary

Jun 1-Jun 15, 0000Z-2359Z, W9CEQ, Batavia, IL. Fox River Radio League. 14.260 14.035 7.260 7.035. Certificate & QSL. FRRL - K9MMS, PO Box 673, Batavia, IL 60510. www.frrl.org

06/15/2024 | Audie Murphy's 99th birthday celebration

Jun 15-Jun 23, 0000Z-2359Z, W5M, Greenville, TX. Sabine Valley Amateur Radio Association. 7.235 14.280 21.400 28.450. QSL. K5GVL Sabine Valley Amateur Radio Association, PO Box 843, Greenville, TX 75403-0843. Celebrating the life of Audie Murphy, Hunt County Texas' war hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. We will be operating CW, FT8, SSB from locations around the county and from the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum grounds. https://k5gvl.com/audie-murphy

06/15/2024 | Streets of Coal

Jun 15, 1400Z-2100Z, W8MOP, Bluefield, WV. East River Amateur Radio Club. 14.250 7.220. QSL. East River Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 1362, Bluefield, WV 24701. www.erarc.com

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Here's what scheduled for this weekend:

Contests:

VK Shires Contest - https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/wavks/

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

Portugal Day Contest - https://portugaldaycontest.rep.pt/rules.php

GACW WWSA CW DX Contest - https://www.gacw.ar/

ARRL June VHF Contest - https://www.arrl.org/june-vhf

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf

Special Event Stations:

06/07/2024 | Greater Gardner Relay For Life

Jun 7-Jun 8, 1800Z-1300Z, N1C, Gardner, MA. Mohawk Amateur Radio Club . 14.227 7.227 3.927. QSL. Kevin Erickson, 194 Conant St, Gardner, MA 01440. Special event station recognizing the Greater Gardner Relay for Life event and raising awareness of the American Cancer Society and their quest to cure cancer.

06/08/2024 | 80th Anniversary Commemoration of the D-Day Landings - Operation Overlord

Jun 8-Jun 9, 0630Z-2200Z, various*, Totnes, UNITED KINGDOM. Torbay Amateur Radio Society. 3.744 7.144 14.144 28.344. Certificate. E-qsl to individual, SES call signs, as referenced, UNITED KINGDOM. Note: SES call signs will be listed before event www.torbayars.org

06/08/2024 | Appleton Flag Day Parade

Jun 8, 1830Z-2030Z, W9ZL, Fremont, WI. Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club. 14.246. Certificate. FCARC , PO Box 2346, Appleton, WI 54912. fcarc.club

06/08/2024 | Waco Village 175th Anniversary W5V

Jun 8-Jun 22, 1400Z-2300Z, W5V, Waco, TX. Heart Of Texas DX Society. 28.437 MHz. Certificate & QSL. Larry Merritt, 3200 Colcord Ave., Waco, TX 76707-1814. Will be operating in the General Class part of the phone bands 40M, 20M, 15M, and 10M. To receive an 8.5x11 inch SES certificate or a SES QSL card, (No SASE) is required. Simply send your QSL card with two (2) first-class stamps for a certificate and SES QSL card or your QSL card with one (1) first-class stamp for the SES QSL card only. w5dxs.tripod.com

06/09/2024 | Honoring Pioneer Women at Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Jun 9-Jun 10, 1400Z-2300Z, W7WYO, Torrington, WY. High Plains Amateur Radion Club. 28.400 21.375 14.275 7.250. Certificate & QSL. Lee Milner, K7WY, 123 Arrowhead Road, Torrington, WY 82240. We are honoring the pioneer women that traveled on the Oregon Trail between 1840 and 1890. June 10, 2024 is the 172 anniversary of the death of Mary Homsley a pioneer woman who died of Measles on June 10, 1852 and is buried near Fort Laramie, Wyoming. We will be operating from Fort Laramie National Historic Site which is a National Park. arrowhead273@gmail.com

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Dave and I are mobile again for the Wisconsin QSO Party. This time hitting four POTA parks and five counties on our multi-multi-mobile road trip. Will we end up with an epic score or fail miserably?

Team K9M is Michael KB9VBR and Dave KZ9V. This is our second year as mobile operators in the Wisconsin QSO party. If you made contact with K9M during the QSO party and would like a card, please QSL via KB9VBR. As they say, I’m good in the book.

Wisconsin QSO Party: https://www.warac.org/wqp/wqp.htm

Things that helped us immensly:
Feather Flag Base: https://amzn.to/3MdepHE
Wolf River Coils: https://www.wolfrivercoils.com/
MFJ-1979 whip: https://amzn.to/3B9cehF
42×108 inch Faraday Fabric: https://amzn.to/3Vt1m9R
Jaw Mount Antenna Clamp: https://amzn.to/3VL5Ir6
SO-239 stud mount for jaw clamp: https://amzn.to/3VT1KwG
SOTAbeams mast: https://www.dxengineering.com/search/brand/sotabeams/product-line/sotabeams-tactical-7000hds-compact-heavy-duty-telescopic-mast
Weize 100ah LiFePO4 Battery: https://amzn.to/3UswLbV
N1MM Logger Plus: https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/
Heil Ham Radio BM-17 Dual headset: https://heilhamradio.com/product/bm-17-2/

Graphical contact map provided by: https://www.qsomap.com/
Thank you for your support.

How I record my contact audio: https://youtu.be/tOqzZPphE7k
My headset trigger switch: https://youtu.be/b5Wu8BlrSF0

As a bonus, patrons can view the unedited phone contacts for the QSO Party and extended conversations between Dave and I. Visit my page on Patreon for details: https://www.patreon.com/kb9vbrantennas

Links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect the price you pay.

The post Revealed: Our Risky Wisconsin QSO Party Strategy appeared first on KB9VBR Antennas.

I spent a little time (and money) on the Vistaprint site last night, designing an additional and special banner for SPARC's Field Day effort:

The 14th Annual Maine 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge takes place Saturday, March 16th, from 12PM – 4PM!

Contacts are limited to FM Simplex on the 2 meter band.

Participants may be entered as either fixed or mobile, (but not as both).

Exchange – Exchange items include your call sign, the name of the city, village, town, or township you are operating from, and your power level. Rovers and mobiles must be within the city limits of whatever city they claim to be operating from. If you are operating from a served agency station, you should also include this with your exchange. Specify which agency you serve, for example, “SKYWARN,” “EOC,” or “Red Cross.” On the log sheets, however, there will only be a place to notate whether or not the station is operating from a served agency.

City or Town – This is simply the name of the city or town you are operating from. If you do not live within the city limits, use the name of the town or municipality to which mail or a package would be addressed. For mobile entries, use the name of the city or town you are in, or the closest city or town.

Power levels are defined as follows:
• QRP – 5 watts or less
• Medium Power – greater than 5 watts, but less than 100
• High Power – 100 watts or more

Enter as either Fixed (either at home or portable) or Mobile (roving).

Click here for complete rules and details, including Entry Forms and Log Sheets, for the 2024 Maine 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge.

 Contests:

CQ WW WPX Contest, CW - One of the biggies! - https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.htm

QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint - http://qrparci.org/contest/hoot-owl-sprint

Special Events:

05/19/2024 | National EMS Week

May 19-May 25, 0000Z-0000Z, N4E, Gainesville, FL. W.T. Loften High School Amateur Radio Club. 14.335. QSL. W.T. Loften High School ARC, 3000 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32641. www.qrz.com/db/k4wtl

05/24/2024 | Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Special Event Station

May 24-May 25, 2200Z-2200Z, K9V, Columbia City, IN. Whitley County Amateur Radio Club. 7.243 14.243 21.343 28.343; FT8 on all frequencies (10M thru 80M).. QSL. WC9AR - K9V, P.O. Box 652, Columbia City, IN 46725. www,wcarc.orgwww,wcarc.org

05/26/2024 | The Event of the Month, Day, and Year Being the Same as Our ZIP Code

May 26, 1200Z-2358Z, W0FUN, Denmark, IA. Iowa Radiosport Society. 7.054 7.235 10.121 14.235. QSL. Iowa Radiosport Society, W0FUN, P.O. Box 73, Denmark, IA 52624.

05/27/2024 | Memorial Day

May 27, 1800Z-2100Z, N3TAL, Lanham, MD. American Legion Post 275 Amateur Radio Team. 7.275 MHz (+/-) LSB. QSL. American Legion Post 275 Amateur Radio Team, 8201 Martin Luther King Jr Hwy, Lanham, MD 20706. N3TAL275@gmail.com or www.qrz.com/db/n3tal

I'm guessing any POTA CW activity may stick to the WARC bands. If I get a chance, maybe I can sneak in an activation of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail - US-4582 on Sunday afternoon.

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend in the US, the "unofficial beginning of Summer". In my neck of the woods, the weather is forecast to be decent today (big deal, I'm working!) Saturday and Sunday, with daytime highs in the mid 80s (29C). The actual Holiday on Monday is supposed to be thunderstormy with about 3/4 of an inch or so of rain forecasted. 

The "actual" Holiday was instituted to remember those brave men and women of our Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in protecting our citizens and our Constitution during times of conflict. It is a good thing to remember them and pray for them this weekend. We would not enjoy the freedoms we have were it not for them, and we should honor them by doing our utmost to not fritter those freedoms away. Their sacrifice should never be in vain.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

From the ARRL:

05/09/2024

The US Department of Defense (DOD) is hosting this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test on Saturday, May 11.

For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event, which is an interoperability exercise between amateur and government radio stations. The event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or private communications.

The AFD Crossband Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111. 

The annual DOD message will be transmitted via RTTY on 14.667 kHz at 1400 and 2000 UTC. These tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise scenario. Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and announce the specific ARS frequencies monitored. All scheduled times will be in Zulu, and all scheduled frequencies will be upper sideband (USB), unless otherwise noted. Information on frequencies, times, and other technical information can be found at DoD MARS - Armed Forces Day. 

The Battleship IOWA Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) and the ship’s Innovation, Engineering and Technology Team will activate NEPM, which was the ship’s original radio station call sign from 1942 until 1997. It was reassigned to the ship in 2015. The activation will begin at the same date and time as the Armed Forces Day Crossband Test, from 1400 to 2000 UTC. All SSB operations are USB only for transmit and receive. 

Assigned transmit and expected receive frequencies are: 

4.0435 to 3.943 MHz USB

6.9035 to 7.295 MHz USB

9.9440 to 10.113 MHz CW

14.4635 to 14.343 MHz USB

18.2930 to 18.143 MHz US 

Information for QSL cards and contact information is available at Armed Forces Day QSL request form.

I've worked this several times and have the QSL Cards hanging on the shack wall!

For the rest of the weekend:

Contests:

FISTS Saturday Sprint - https://fistsna.org/operating.html#sprints

Canadian Prairies QSO Party - https://cpqp.ve6hams.ca/ (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan)

CQ-M International DX Contest - https://cqm.srr.ru/en/rules/

SKCC Weekend Sprintathon - https://www.skccgroup.com/operating_activities/weekend_sprintathon/

4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint - http://www.4sqrp.com/SSS/sss_rules.pdf

Special Events - Lots!

05/10/2024 | Golden Spike Celebration

May 10-May 11, 1500Z-2300Z, W7G, Corinne, UT. Ogden Amateur Radio Club (OARC) - W7SU. 14.255 7.235 14.040 7.040. QSL. Ogden Amateur Radio Club, - W7SU, PO Box 3353, Ogden, UT 84409. Commemorating the anniversary of the 1869 Driving of the Golden Spike completing the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah. Golden Spike National Historical Park. www.ogdenarc.org, www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm, or w7g.org

05/11/2024 | Armed Forces Day Crossband Test 2024

May 11, 1400Z-2300Z, NEPM, San Pedro, CA. Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association. DOD message will be broadcast via RTTY on 14.667 at 1400 and 2000 UTC USB/J3E or CW/A1A: 7.469 14.667 18.444 21.856 21.918. QSL. Battleship Iowa ARA, Inc., c/o NEPM QSL Manager, 250 S. Harbor Blvd. Berth 87, San Pedro, CA 90731-2830. See website for complete information. The annual DOD message will be BROADCAST via RTTY on 14.667 KHz at 1400 and 2000 UTC. 7.469 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening on 7.261 KHz or 7.061 KHz. 14.667 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening on 14.261 KHz or 14.061 KHz. 18.444 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening om 18.161 KHz or 18.061 KHz. 21.856 KHz USB/J3E or CW/A1A listening on 21.361 KHz or 21.061 KHz. 21.918 KHz RTTY listening on 21.150 KHz. https://biara.org

05/11/2024 | Commemorating Armed Forces Day

May 11, 1600Z-2300Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship. 7.250 14.320 14.070 PSK31 DSTAR on Papa system repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Museum Ship COMEDTRA, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. www.qrz.com/db/ni6iw

05/11/2024 | Jamestown Landing Day Event

May 11, 1400Z-2000Z, K4RC, Williamsburg, VA. Williamsburg Area Amateur Radio Club. 7.265 14.265. Certificate & QSL. QSL Manager, WAARC, PO Box 1470, Williamsburg, VA 23187. Celebrating the 417th anniversary of the founding of the first permanent English settlement in North America on Jamestown Island in Virginia in May 1607. FOR CERTIFICATE: The Virginia Historic Triangle Certificate is available for contacting the Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown Special Event Stations. You don’t need to contact these stations in the same calendar year. For a Certificate send QSO info from the three stations to qslmgr@k4rc.net. https://www.k4rc.net/events/special-event-stations

05/11/2024 | Minnesota Fishing Opener

May 11, 1400Z-2000Z, N0F, Anoka, MN. Anoka County Radio Club. 7,255 ssb 14,255 ssb 7.056 ft8 14.091 ft8. QSL. Anoka County Radio Club, PO Box 982, Anoka, MN 55303. Instead of catching fish we will be at Ham Lake Park in Ham Lake,MN making contacts and enjoying spring. We will also send out gsl cards. anokaradio.org

05/11/2024 | National Train Day

May 11, 1400Z-1930Z, W4LX, Fort Myers, FL. Fort Myers ARC. 14.050 14.240 14.070 7.240. Certificate & QSL. FMARC W4LX, PO BOX 061183, FORT MYERS, FL 33906-1183. CW, PSK31, SSB SASE for QSL/Cert Info on website. fmarc.net

05/11/2024 | National Train Day at the Hearne Depot

May 11, 1500Z-1900Z, W5BCS, Hearne, TX. Bryan Amateur Radio Club. 7.050 14.050 21.050 14.325. QSL. Bryan Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 4442, Bryan, TX 77805. National Train Day event in cooperation with the Hearne Depot Museum, Bryan Amateur Radio Club and Robertson County ARES. w5bcs.radio

05/12/2024 | National Police Week - To Honor Our Fallen Heros

May 12-May 18, 0001Z-2359Z, K3FBI/0-9, Fredericksburg, VA. FBI Amateur Radio Association. 14.275 7.060. Certificate. Jay Chamberlain - NS4J, 27 Fox Run Ln, Fredericksburg, VA 22405-3303. To honor all Law Enforcement members who have died in the line of duty. All bands and all modes. Multiple stations from around the U.S. Downloadable PDF certificate by the end of June at QRZ, https://www.qrz.com/db/K3FBI k3fbi@arrl.net

05/12/2024 | Police Services Week

May 12-May 18, 0000Z-0000Z, N4P, Gainesville, FL. W. Travis Loften High School Amateur Radio Club - K4WTL. 14.335. Certificate. Robert Lightner, 3435 NW 34th Terrace, Gainesville, FL 32605. www.qrz.com/db/k4wtl

All of the above might be for naught if the bands crap out this weekend:

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a WATCH in anticipation of a potential G4-Severe Geomagnetic Storm or greater which is expected to impact the earth May 11, 2024.  The effects of a storm of this intensity may last from six hours up to a day.  During periods of very high solar activity, geomagnetic storms can persist for days.

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 45 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.

Induced Currents - Possible widespread voltage control problems and some protective systems may mistakenly trip out key assets from the power grid. Induced pipeline currents intensify.

Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low earth orbit satellites and tracking and orientation problems may occur.

Navigation - Satellite navigation (GPS) degraded or  inoperable for hours.

Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation sporadic or blacked out.

Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Alabama and northern California

PSA: Might not be a good weekend for a POTA Activation or Rove.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP  - When you care to send the very least1

If you were checking the Trans Provincial Net Website you might of noticed a small blurb mentioning I will be taking the summer off.

“Bob VA3QV will be away starting 18th May till  September 2024.”

I currently cover the 11am (EST) hour 5 days a week and I do enjoy being a NCS…. But… Now that the nicer weather is finally looking like it might arrive… I decided I would prefer to spend it doing other stuff compared to sitting in the shack for a while.

No doubt that radio will be a big part of my summer but it won’t be from the shack unless its raining.

As always if I am doing (or have done) anything interesting in radio you will be able to read about it right here.

73bob

It's May already! Where's the time going? Here's to warmer weather, outdoor cookouts, possible POTA activations and all the other stuff associated with warm weather.

Contests this weekend:

16 State QSO Parties this weekend! A lot of states are grouped into two area QSO Parties - specifically

7th Call Area QSO Party - http://7qp.org/ (AZ, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)

New England QSO Party - https://neqp.org/rules/ (CT, ME, MA, RI, VT, NH)

Delaware QSO Party - https://www.fsarc.org/

Indiana QSO Party - http://www.hdxcc.org/inqp/rules.html

10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW - http://www.ten-ten.org/index.php/activity/2013-07-22-20-26-48/qso-party-rules

ARI International DX Contest - https://www.ari.it/

And Monday Night is the May 2024 ARS Spartan Sprint - http://arsqrp.blogspot.com/2009/02/so-whats-spartan-sprint-and-how-do-i.html

Special Event Stations:

05/03/2024 | 10th Annual Jiggy with the Piggy- Barbecue Cook off

May 3-May 4, 1200Z-2300Z, K4C, Concord, NC. Cabarrus Amateur Radio Society. 7.230 14.310 28.430. Certificate. Cabarrus Amateur Radio Society, P.O. Box 785, Concord, NC 28026. www.facebook.com/cabarrusars/ or www.cabarrusars.org

05/04/2024 | Blind Willie McTell Birthday Celebration

May 4, 0900Z-1600Z, W4M, Statesboro, GA. STARS/SARA. 7.250. Certificate & QSL. Douglas Hess, 108 Greenwood Ave , Statesboro, GA 30461. Will be Phone only on HF bands. Will self-spot on Dx Summit. Check club webpage or QRZ page for QSL card/certificate info and for history on Blind Willie McTell and his song he wrote "Statesboro Blues" that put the Allman Brothers on the map and Statesboro for that matter. www.qrz.com/db/W4M or https://statesboroamateurr.wixsite.com/home

05/04/2024 | Frank Conrad Sesquicentennial

May 4, 1300Z-2100Z, KD3KA, Wexford, PA. Allegheny Valley Radio Association. 7.040 7.240 14.040 14.240. QSL. Allegheny Valley Radio Association, P.O. Box 550, Wexford, PA 15090. Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Frank Conrad, engineer and technical founder of KDKA-AM Radio, Pittsburgh, PA. Please see the qrz.com page of KD3KA for details. www.alleghenyvalley.net

05/04/2024 | Homage to Josephine BAKER the voice of the Paris Olympics Games 2024!

May 4-Jul 21, 0000Z-0000Z, TM24JB, Fort Blackmore, FRANCE. F1SXC. 7.124 14.154 18.124 28.424. QSL. David, F1SXC/Radio-club de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, F6KRK, 1 bis avenue des Frênes, MONTIGNY le BTX 78180, FRANCE. Homage to Josephine BAKER the artist, militant, and member of the French resistance. https://www.qrz.com/db/TM24JB

05/04/2024 | N0T - Milwaukee Road Railroad - Newport Tower, 120th Anniversary

May 4, 1400Z-2000Z, N0T, Newport, MN. South East Metro Amateur Radio Club (SEMARC). 7.040 Mhz CW 14.035 Mhz CW 7.220 Mhz Phone 14.260 Mhz Phone. Certificate. David Blume, 8791 77th Street South, Cottage Grove, MN 55016. Questions or comments can be sent to KD0IRF@yahoo.com. Certificates will be available for download 30 days after the event. www.semarc.org

05/04/2024 | NJ Knights of Columbus 128th State Convention

May 4-May 18, 0000Z-2359Z, K0C, Brick, NJ. NJKCARC (N2AJO). 7.225 14.240 21.350 28.340. Certificate & QSL. Art Olson, 339 18th Ave, Brick, NJ 08724. For domestic contacts: QSL card, send SASE; for QSL card and certificate, send two dollars. For DX contacts: QSL card, send two dollars; for QSL card and certificate, send five dollars. For more information, visit K0C on QRZ.com or Email: olson339@comcast.net www.qrz.com/db/K0C

Looks to be a busy weekend on the airwaves!

In closing today's post, I'd like to cross-post something here that appeared on the SPARC Facebook page, from my good friend Dave KD2FSI:

Learn a New Language with just 15 Minutes Per Day!

I’ve been hearing these commercials on the radio lately for the language program Babbel and that you can learn a new language in a few weeks by studying for just 15 minutes a day.

Well, I decided to use that approach towards finally learning the Morse code well enough to use it. So, I have been practicing the code for at least 15 minutes each day for the last month or so and it might be finally starting to sink in. I still have a long way to go, but this time I am going to stick with it.

And with today being the birthday of Guglielmo Marconi, I thought it would be a very fitting day to try and make my first DX CW contact.

3G0YA, the Easter Island DXpedition was working 12-meter CW this afternoon and had a good pile-up going. But after calling at up 1K for about 15 or 20 minutes, I was more than thrilled to hear KD2FSI 5NN! However, it took seeing my call on their Clublog before I believed that I really got them.

So for today I’ll be signing off as 73, DE KD2FSI